''[[WildlifeCommentarySpoof We are standing in the plains of Medialand. We can see Snarkus majoris, the Common Troper, stalking another cliché. Watch as she creeps silently towards the overused plot device. Soon... there she goes! She leaps onto the cliché and sinks her snarky teeth into it. Look at it writhe! It can't escape! Soon it will be another entry in the Troper's Lair.]]''

Documentaries in which animals are filmed in their natural habitat. Or not, as the case may be. There are two variants: one where a narrator explains whats going on over a clandestinely filmed scene. The other is where the host goes out and wrestles the animals to show off the beauty of the unspoiled nature.

Perhaps the UrExample for television was ''[[Creator/JacquesCousteau The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau]]'' which ran on American Television for a decade and inspired an entire genre of underwater adventure documentaries (as well as a lot of affectionate parodies). All modern TV nature documentaries owe something to Cousteau.

Commonly parodied in various media as the WildlifeCommentarySpoof.----!Examples:[[index]]* Creator/AnimalPlanet is an entire channel devoted to {{Nature Show}}s.** Or, [[/index]][[NetworkDecay was]][[index]].* ''Series/BigCatDiaries''* ''Film/{{Blackfish}}'', a 2013 documentary covering the deaths of trainers at SeaWorld by the captive Orca Tilikum.* ''Series/CrocodileHunter''* Creator/DavidAttenborough** ''Series/LifeInColdBlood''** ''Series/PlanetEarth''** ''Zoo Quest'' (1954-1963), Attenborough's first series, may be the UrExample of an ''unfaked'' TV NatureDocumentary.** ''Series/TheLifeOfBirds''* ''Series/{{Earthflight}}''* ''Film/EncountersAtTheEndOfTheWorld''* Creator/JacquesCousteau* ''Series/TheJeffCorwinExperience''* Creator/KrattBrothers** ''Series/BeTheCreature''** ''Series/KrattsCreatures''* ''LastChanceToSee'' with [[/index]]Creator/StephenFry[[index]].* ''Film/MarchOfThePenguins''* ''Series/MutualOfOmahasWildKingdom''* ''Film/NationalParksAdventure''* ''{{Nature}}'' on [[/index]]Creator/{{PBS}}[[index]]* ''Film/TheSecretLand'', a 1948 documentary about a massive U.S. Navy expedition to Antarctica* Creator/WaltDisney's ''Film/TrueLifeAdventures'' series were some of the first popular nature documentaries. They are rather infamous nowadays as [[/index]][[DocumentaryOfLies Documentaries Of Lies]][[index]], particularly due to the faked lemming suicide scene in "White Wilderness".** ''PeopleAndPlaces'', a spin-off series focusing on exotic cultures around the world.* This is what ''WesternAnimation/TheWildThornberrys'' were supposed to be making.* ''Series/WalkingWithDinosaurs'' and its spinoffs/sequels differ in that the creatures are mostly CGI, with animatronics thrown in.** The same about ''Series/PlanetOfDinosaurs'', though without CGI.** Both are justified of course; unless you want to do an entire documentary about birds (which many people have already done anyway) you're not going to have any luck finding dinosaurs to document these days.

[[/index]]

!Use as a trope in media:* Spoofed in ''WesternAnimation/TheRenAndStimpyShow'' as ''Untamed World''.* Years ago, the Little Caesar's pizza chain had a commercial which started as an apparent nature documentary. The dialog went something like this:-->'''Narrator:''' In the wild, life is a constant battle to find enough to eat...-->''''-->'''Narrator:''' ...fortunately, mother nature always provides.* Parodied in the ''{{WesternAnimation/Futurama}}'' episode "Naturama", with the show's characters appearing as animals on ''[[Series/MutualOfOmahasWildKingdom Mutual of Omicron's Wild Universe]]''.----